Divorced
by C.B. Magique
Summary: Masaya has to break up with Ichigo and he expects that it's not going to be pretty but it doesn't have to be totally awful.


**This is something I came up with a couple of weeks ago while I was conceptualising my long-held headcanon that Aoyama Masaya is, in fact, gay. It is also something of a challenge/address to everyone who has ever written a TMM story where they needed to split Masaya and Ichigo up for some reason and simply can't think of any way to do it without resorting to domestic abuse scenarios, rape, cheating and adultery followed by jealous stalking, premediated murder attempts, and general character bashing. There are nice ways for people to break up and just leave it at that.**

**The title is a reference to the final scene in the manga where they hold a mock wedding for Ichigo and Masaya before they disappear to England. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Tokyo Mew Mew. I do fanfiction for fun and only for fun and not for funds.**

**Please read and enjoy. =^.^=**

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**Divorced**

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Aoyama rubbed his hands and shuffled a bit to ward off the bitterly cold English weather. It was late December, school wasn't back in yet but it wouldn't be long and he had something that he really wanted to get off his chest. The steps of the National Gallery were uncrowded since most people were inside for the warmth. The only reason Masaya was even here was because he had agreed to meet someone. Specifically, Momomiya Ichigo.

They'd ended up having to stay apart when the moved to London. Masaya had earned a scholarship to a prestigious boarding school but Ichigo's average grades and her level of English wasn't good enough to grant her the same opportunity. She was on a high school exchange instead, taking English classes and spending a year with a host family.

A bus rolled past Trafalgar Square with the rest of the traffic, less busy now than it was when more people were at work. Masaya raked his eyes over the square and spotted a pink scarf, a mint green coat and familiar red pigtails. He waved to her and Ichigo waved back, running to meet him on the steps. Her face and smile shone like the sun cutting through a bleak winter day, all because she got to see him and spend time with him today. It made Masaya's heart sink. He only felt even more terrible about what he was about to do.

"Hi, Aoyama-kun!" Ichigo chirped. Any day when Masaya asked her out on a date was a great day, even when it was -2 degrees in the afternoon and the clouds above were threatening to drizzle dismally. He hadn't called it a date per se in his text message but what else could a trip to an art gallery with your boyfriend be?

"You can just call me 'Masaya', I've told you," he replied with a smile. "It's good to see you."

Ichigo blushed and fidgeted coyly. "You too. I'm sorry about calling you that. I just… sometimes I can't believe that we really have become this close. It's like… it's like a dream," she said, wistfully.

Masaya swallowed thickly. He really wished she hadn't said that.

"Are you ready to go?" she asked. She looked into his eyes and her smile fell. Aoyama's brow was slightly furrowed in barely contained anxiety. "Are you okay?"

Masaya tried to smile but it probably looked as forced as it felt. "Yeah… actually, no. Ichigo, I'm really sorry but there is something I absolutely need to tell you."

Ichigo just nodded understandingly. They'd been through a lot together and promised to seal their love one another. There was nothing that could bring either of them down now. The trusting gesture just made Masaya even more uncomfortable. She had no idea what was really coming.

"I…" he began and then paused. Ichigo nodded to urge him on, still with a smile. Masaya looked away because that was only way he would be able to continue. "I think we should break up."

The impact of that sentence felt like a boulder had been dropped on top of both of them. Ichigo's jaw hung open in shock. They were as still as statues for a tense minute. It was Ichigo who broke the silence.

"Wh… why?"

Masaya exhaled and tried to calm himself but his heart was racing too fast. This was the moment he could no longer avoid. He licked his drying lips and dug deep inside for the courage to just spit it out. His confession:

"I'm gay."

The following silence felt longer than time itself. Ichigo balled her hands into fists. Her body shook slightly and on the inside she felt like there was a cold stone in place of her heart.

"You're joking, right?" she said in a wavering voice.

"No, I meant it. I'm gay. It's something that I didn't fully realise and didn't want to accept until I moved here. I feel like it would be cruel to continue being your boyfriend when I can't love you the way you want me to."

"But you said you loved me," Ichigo sobbed. The tears beginning to fall down her face made her cheeks feel hot. "You said it over and over again."

"I'm sorry. I can't be your boyfriend anymore."

"But you're not my boyfriend, you're my husband. Did you forget? We got married before we left."

"It wasn't a real wedding—"

"So?! That wasn't the point! The point was that you promised to love me forever!" Ichigo cried. "Did you forget? Or were you lying?"

"I didn't forget," Masaya replied hastily. "I still love you, I always did but it's taken me this long to realise that it's not the love we both thought it was."

"Was it fake, then?"

"Brotherly," Masaya corrected, reaching over to pat her on the head but she flinched and he retracted his hand. "I will always try to protect you, Ichigo, that doesn't change. I hope you and I can still be friends."

"But why? Was it something I did? Am I not good enough anymore? Please, if it's something that I have to fix, just tell me. Why didn't you tell me?"

"It's nothing like that!" Masaya grabbed her by the shoulders but she refused to look at him. "I would feel terrible if we left this place and you didn't understand what I'm trying to tell you. None of this is your fault or my fault or anyone's fault. It's just the way that things turned out and neither of us can control it. But I don't hate you or think you did anything wrong."

Ichigo sniffed and wiped the tears off her face. She felt caught, unable to decide if she should accept his words or reject him completely. He'd turned the world upside down and conflicting emotions like anger, empathy, betrayal, and gratitude whirled inside her like the most violent of maelstroms. She thought that they would have their relationship forever. She had put so much into it and given up so much for it. She left her family and friends and moved to London just to stay with him. She had fought the education system tooth and nail – studied hard to lift her average grades a bit – to earn the chance to take the exchange program when every boarding school in England rejected her. She had tried to give up her life to bring him back from the dead. All of this, she felt, had earned her a lifetime with him by her side.

"How could you do this?" she muttered. Masaya had to lean in to hear her. "I've done so much… so much of what I've done had been for you. Only you. Because I thought you returned my feelings."

Masaya let her go and put his hands up, preparing to placate her from afar after the explosion of outrage he was expecting. Instead, she just looked up and stared directly at him. Her eyes burned with indignation and a spark of fury just waiting to ignite.

"Well?" she snapped.

Masaya gulped. "I can only tell you what I know it true and what I think is right. I think that breaking up is right because if I can't love you the way a boyfriend should, you'll find out. And you shouldn't regret everything that you've done just because of me or because things haven't gone according to plan. You've found that you're smarter and stronger than you ever thought you could be. That counts for a lot. And now you're in London. Think of all of the other possibilities that are now open to you because of that. Honestly, I would feel so bad if I was the only thing stopping you."

Silence filled the space between them once again. Ichigo was still staring but her face had gone stoic. Aoyama bit his lip and fidgeted, feeling like he should be saying more; blathering on to convince her. However, he had no idea what more he could say.

"Okay," Ichigo finally said in a voice so small that Masaya had to ask her to repeat it. "Okay. I just have to accept it, right? There's nothing that will change your mind?"

Masaya shook his head. "It's just who I am. I can't choose to change it even if I wanted to."

Ichigo nodded. She looked down at the concrete. "Well… thank-you. For being honest, I mean."

Masaya smiled and stepped forward to give her a hug but she stepped back and turned away from him. "No, not yet. I still need time…"

His smiled fell but he nodded to show that he understood. "I see." He paused. "Do you want to go inside?" he asked, tilting his head towards the gallery. "It's really cold out here."

Ichigo nodded wordlessly and went to the doors. Masaya followed her and started to smile again despite himself. She could be so stubborn sometimes and try to hold onto things so hard it hurt but it seemed like this time she would be willing to let go. She was going to be alright. By the time he got inside, he was grinning.

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**END**

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**A/N: Please read and review! But please don't character bash when you review, that would just be horrible. **


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